VC returns appear to soar in Q2

Venture returns appear to have soared in the second quarter, climbing 81 percent from the first three months of 2018, according to a preliminary tally by Cambridge Associates.

U.S.-based funds posted a pooled return of 7.18 percent during the three-month period, Cambridge said, with about two-thirds of funds reporting. That compares with a quarterly IRR of 3.96 percent in the first quarter.

Year-to-date returns through June add up to 11.88 percent.

The strong performance likely reflects the improving IPO market. Sixty companies went public during the second quarter, the most for a quarter since 2015. About half had venture backing, including tech companies Spotify, Zuora and DocuSign.

The healthcare sector was active during the quarter as well.

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